Portable beverage conditioning and dispensing apparatus



Dec. 5, 1939. 1 G. COPEMAN ZJSZS PORTABLE BEVERAGE CONDITIONING ANDDISPE'NSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. ll, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet l i l Il yINVENTOR. ZZoS/a @pe/m2,

Dec. 5; '1939. G. COPEMAN PORTABLE BEVERAGE CONDITIONING AND DISPENSINGAP'PARATUS Filed Jan. l1, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. (i Cope/77 afz ATTORNEYS Dec'. 5, 1939. L. G. coPEMAN PORTABLE BEVERAGE CONDITIONINGAND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. ll, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.(z Cope/nmz ATTORNEYS ,Y mw

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m, Mms/M @E Zzoyd Dec. 5, 1939. L. G. coPEMAN 2,182,116

PORTABLE BEVERAGE CONDITIONING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed Jan. ll,1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 26 659' f Z5 Z.(9/ m 7J 3,44, Z6 W f /AL Z5 2Qjcjzg. 10

IHM i l wZJoKg/d Cope/naa ATTOR NE Y5 Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE PORTABLE BEVERAGE CONDITIONHNG DISPENSING APPARATUSApplication January 11, 1935, Serial No. 1,306

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a portable beverage conditioning anddispensing apparatus, and more particularly to portable beer barrels ofthe type wherein the beer is cooled Within and dispensedy 15 revenuelaws with respect to the containing and dispensing of beer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a self-containedportable beer barrel which serves as its own bar or which can be used in2o combination with an insulating container as its own bar. The ordinaryapertures, namely the bung hole and the tapping aperture for the tap rodare retained exactly the same as in standard practice in beer barrelswhether made of wood or 25 metal.

More specifically, the present invention relates to the use of a coolingmedium, preferably solid CO2, which is so immersed with respect to the'contents of the barrel that the transmission of 30 heat units is directby conduction; the container for the cooling medium being such as tomaintain the contents of the barrel at a predetermined desiredtemperature, above'freezing. A further object of the invention includesa cooling unit 35 container immersible directly in the contents of' thebarrel, said container being removable to aord easy access for pitchingand or cleaning the interior of the barrel, the aperture of the barrelfor receiving the cooling medium being so fabricated as to require theuse of considerable pressure at the brewery or filling station so thatsuch container, while removable at the brewery or other source ofsupply, is nevertheless a permanent part of the barrel when shipped to 5the retailer or dispenser.

Further specific features include the novel insulated bar constructionincluding means for easy loading and unloading of the beer barrel Withinthe cabinet and the utilization of the re- 50 leased CO2 gas to insulateand cool or precool barrels within the cabinet. The containen'whilepermanently a part of the barrel outside of the brewery, has a top whichis removable to permit loading the container with a cooling medium at 55the same time. In other words, the liquid con- (Cl. (i2-91.5)

tents can be precooled during shipping with any kind of cooling mediumand upon arrival or upon time for use the container can be filled withsolid CO2 to obtain the desired carbonization of the liquid and correctprecooling thereof.

Other featuresinclude the various structural details of the barrel, theaccessories therefor, and the cabinet bar, together with the locating ofthe cooling medium to one side of the axis of the barrel whereby topromote a positive circulation of the contents, as will be morespecifically broughtout in the specification and claims.

` In the drawings:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view illustrating one embodiment of theinvention wherein the portable beer barrel with the cooling,conditioning and dispensing mechanism is formed as a part thereof anddisposed within a barrel or container, the portable feature of the barbeing illustrated in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan View taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1 illustrating therelative positions of the tap rod and the cooling unit.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the selfcontained portable barrelyshown in Fig. 1, illustrating in detail the cooling, conditioning anddispensing structure.

y Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken/on line of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a slightly modifiedform of structure shown in Fig. 3, wherein a portion of the escaping CO2is used as a cooling and insulating means between the two shells of ametal barrel.`

Fig. 6 is an elevation, partly in section, of the combination of aplurality of units embodying the present invention, one of said unitsbeing adapted to receive the solid CO2 as a conditioning and coolingmedium, said solid CO2 supplying the conditioning medium for the otherbarrels which may be cooled by ice or other cooling medium other thanCO2.

Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmentary vertical sectional and-plan'views,respectively, of one form of cooling unit container wherein the cap forthe cooling unit container has a bayonet slot relationship with the topof the barrel whereby to hold the container in fixed position.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional fragmentary view illustrating thepreferred form of removable container and barrel construction.

Fig. 10 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 9? but showing the removablecontainer as being replaced by a dummy head.

Fig. -11 is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating a preferred formof aperture construction when my removable container is used inconnection with a steel barrel.

The present invention deals particularly with that type of dispensingunit wherein the liquid is conditioned, cooled and dispensed directlyfrom the portable container itself. The present invention is illustratedas beingA embodied in a conventional type of beer barrel, metal or wood,but it will be understood that it is readily adaptable to many differenttypes of containers. The laws of the United States are somewhat exactingas to the manner in which the revenue stamp isv placed upon thecontainer, and where the beer is to be .dispensed directly from thebarrel this becomes quite a problem. My portable selfconditioning andself-cooling and dispensing unit utilizes a standard tap opening of abarrel as a dispensing opening and thus the placing of the revenue stampover such tap opening complies with the laws the same as any standardbeer barrel. As far as the source of conditioning and cooling supply isconcerned, this is tamper proof as regards the unlawful removing oradding of any beer to the container.

A conventional metallic type of beer barrel is shown as at 2 in Fig. 3.This barrel may be provided with a standard tap opening 3 and standardbung 4. The top of the standard barrel may be apertured as at 5 toreceive and support a solid CO2 container cylinder 6. A gasket Iseparates the top of the opening 5 from a cover member 8 adapted to besecurely clamped in place by suitable bolts.

A tap rod unit 9 is of standard construction with the exception that acheck valve is provided at the point I0 and a conduit I I, instead ofbeing connected to a source of air or CO2 tank supply, is connected to aunion I2. From this union I2 extends a conduit I3 down into the top ofthe container 6, a second conduit leading to a gauge I4, and a thirdconduit leading to a relief Valve I5.

The container 6 may be directly lled with solid CO2 or ice, but I preferto use some formof insulating container I6, such as a vacuum container.A plug I I may be fitted into the top of the container I6 and providedwith a small extension I8 which permits the plug to be moved upwardly bythe pressure of the CO2 gas from the solid cake I9 of CO2. The reliefvalve I5 may be set at, say, ten pounds, or any other desired pressureso that ten pounds or any other predetermined pressure will bemaintained above the body of liquid in the barrel. The thickness of thevacuum container I6 or the insulating effect on all the Walls within andincluding the container is preferably such that the beer be maintainedat the proper temperature, above freezing. One wall of the container 6is preferably provided with a glass side opening 20 which makes itpossible, when one is lling the solid CO2 container, to look throughthis glass opening vand readily perceive the amount of liquid left inthe barrel.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 I have provided a small opening 2|in the upper part of the barrel, which opening is directly connected tothe interior of the container 6. In this manner some of the CO2delivered from the container I6 will enter into and ll the hollow wallsof the barrel. This CO2 provides an excellent insulating medium.

In the modification shown in Figs. '7 and 8, the opening 5 in the upperwall of the barrel is offset 'aisaii and the oiset portion threaded asat 22. The upper portion of the container 6 is flanged so as to besupported by the oifset portion of the opening 5. 'I'he cap member 8 isalso threaded as best shown in Fig. 7, and both the threaded portion 22of the barrel and the threaded portion of the cap member are cut away orspaced apart so that threaded portions of the cap member 8 may be moveddownwardly in between spaced apart portions of the threads 22, pressureapplied to the cap member 8 to compress the gasket and align thethreads, and the cap memberY then given a turn whereby the threadedportions mesh and securely hold the cap member in place.

The preferred structure and manner of securing the cap in place is bestshown in Figs. 9, 10 and 11. Here a wooden barrel is generallydesignated as at 2a and a metal barrel as at 2. In Fig. 9 the cap orhead 8 is shown tapped as at 23 so'as to receive a conduit I3, such asshown in Fig. 3. A ring 24 is welded to the top of the container 6. Anapertured l'ocking ring 25 is secured to the top of the barrel and asecond locking ring 26 is secured to the ring 24. The ring 26 isprovided with downwardly extending projections 21 adapted to, upon theapplication of downward pressure upon the cap 8, pass under and lock tothe ring 25. A compression gasket 28 separates the rings 24 and 25.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 10, the separate head 8 isdispensed with and the ring 24 is replaced with a circular plate 24a theperiphery of which is similar to the structure of the ring 24. Th plate24a carries a head 8a which is usedv to seal the barrel when thecontainer is not being used. In the modification shown in Fig. 11, thering 25 is shown as being replaced by a different type but similarlyacting ring 25a Which is welded to the top of a metal barrel. Theapplication of the sealing gasket 28 and the rings 24 and 26 to the topof the metal barrel as shown in Fig. 11 is the same as illustrated inFig. 9.

In assembling the container within the barrel as shown in Fig. 9 or inmerely closing the top of the barrel as shown in Fig. 10, thecompression gasket 28 is compressed under great pressure applied to thetop of the ring 24. The locking ring 21 is then revolved to lockingposition, as best illustrated in Fig. 9, and pressure on the top of thering 24 is then relieved causing the locking rings 25 and 21 tointerengage and seal the container 6 to the barrel head. Tme verticalspacing of the lockingr means 25 and 21 is such that considerablepressure is required to compress the gasket 28 and cause interengagementof these two rings so that this sealing of the container 6 within thebarrel can only be accomplished at the brewery or other qualieddispensary where the heavy pressure requiredl will be available. Thehead 8 may then be applied or removed as desired, as this only admitsentrance to the container 6 and does not permit entrance to the liquidcontents of the barrel. It will be obvious that the barrel may be lledat the brewery withl From the above it will be seen that a barrelyalessia pensing barrel a more pleasing appearance and,

at the same time, to greatly increase the efilciency of the entire unit,as best shown in Fig. 1, I have provided a bar 29 with a standard typedraft arm 30 which is connected to the upper end of the tap rod 9 bymeans of a flexible tubing 3l. Thus the draft arm 30 merely forms anextension of the tap rod 9. It will be understood that in cases wherethe beer barrel is used as a selfdispensing bar without the outerenclosing unit, that the dispensing valve will be placed at the upperend of the tap rod.

The bar 29. consists in general of an insulated cabinet with a door 32.This cabinet is .provided with a foldable track generally designated 33which consists of two spaced angle irons 34 hinged to the bottom of thecabinet as at 35 so that the track may be folded into upright position,the barrel protruding between the spaced angle irons 34 so that when thebarrel is in the position shown in, Fig. 1, the track may be folded intoupright position and the door 32 closed. A'

car or truck 36 having wheels 36a is provided for the barrel and adaptedto run ,on the track 33. To make use of the foldable track, the barrelis tapped in the usual manner rand the conduit 3l attached to the taprod. The valve 31 may then be turned on and the barrel moved from theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown in solidlines.

The solid CO2 container 6 may be lled at the brewery before the shipmentof the barrel, in which case the beer will be cooled and fully chargedupon delivery, or the solid CO2 may be inserted in the container at thetime of delivery or just before the barrel is placed in the bar unit 29,or just before the beer is dispensed directly from the barrel. In eithercase, when the beer container is placed within the bar unit 29, thegaseous CO2 will almost immediately start to escape from the valve I5because of the fact that the valve lli is set for only ten to twentypounds. 'I'he escaping C02 gas cools the inside of the insulated bar 29and also fills all the interstices of the insulation and thus greatlyincreases the insulating qualities of the insulating material; some ofthe CO2 gases, oflnecessity, will have to leak through the bar unit but,at the same time, the interior of the bar unit will be kept at arelatively low temperature by the escaping C02 gas. The unit istherefore not only self-conditioning and selfdispensing, but it elimpinates the use of cold storage rooms.

As best shown in Fig. 6, the bar unit 29 may be increased in size totake care of a multiple installation. In this case thefront of the barunit may be provided with a plurality of doors 32 instead of just oneand each barrel may be tapp d in the ordinary manner and directlyoonnected to a draft arm 3l. In such a multiple installation, eachbarrel may be provided with an independent charge of dry CO: or, ifdesired, only one barrel need be charged with a supply of solid COzLandthe union I2 of this barrel may be connected by means of a conduit 3lwith the tap rods l of the other barrels. In this instance the reliefvalve I3 will serve as a relief valve for predetermining the pressure inall threebarrels. Gas- .'eous CO2 discharged into the union I2 will belconducted tothe upper end of each of the tap rods ineach barrel-andsuch gaseous COzKdischarged directly into barrel above .the surface ofthe liquid, as shown by the irws in Fig. 6. The container 6 in the othertwo barrels, as shown in Fig-6, may be lled with cracked ice to assistin maintaining the correct temperature of beer in said other twobarrels; the solid CO2 v providing all the cooling from one barrel andall the CO2 for charging the beer and dispensing the same from all thebarrels. The surplus CO2 gas over that required in the conditioning anddispensing of beer from the barrels will escape into and be largelyretained within the walls of the bar unit to increase the cooling andinsu lating effect thereof.

What I claim is:

1. A dispensing, conditioning and cooling unit for beer and the like,comprising a main container for receiving a body of liquid to be-conditioned and dispensed, a solid CO2 container positioned within saidmain container, a dispensing conduit leading from said main container, asingle means for controlling the escaping of the CO2 gases from the CO2container to the main container and for maintaining a predeterminedpressure of the CO2 gases within the main container and releasing theremainder of the C02 gases to a -point outside the main container, and acontainer surrounding the entire unit and conning a portion of theescaping CO2 gases around the same whereby to maintaina cold storagecompartnient for the unit.

2. A dispensing, conditioning and cooling /unit for beer and the like,comprising a main container for receiving a body of liquid to beconditioned and dispensed, a solid CO2 container positioned within saidmain container, a dispensing conduit leading from said main container, asingle means for controlling the escaping of the CO2- gases from the CO:.container to the main container and for maintaining a predeterminedpressure of the CO2 gases within the main container and releasing theremainder of the CO2 gases to a point outside the maincontainer, and aninsulating containerl surrounding the entire unit and confining aportion of the escaping CO: gases around the same whereby to maintain acold storage compartment for the unit, said CO2 gases filling the poresof said container and increasing the insulating effect thereof.

3. A dispensing, conditioning and cooling unit for beer and the like,comprising a main container for receiving a body of liquid to beconditioned and dispensed, a solid CO2 container positioned within saidmain container, a dispensing l pores of said container and increasingthe insulating effect thereof, and dispensing means'on the outside ofsaid insulated container and connected to the dispensing conduit leadingfrom said main container. V

4. A cooling and dispensing unit for beer and the like, comprising acontainer for receiving a body of liquid to be cooled and dispensed, asecond container for receiving a body of solid CO2, means for conductingCO2 gases into the main con-l tainer, a cover removable to permit accessto the CO1 container from the outside, a portion of the wall oi' saidCO2 container being formed of transparent material.

5. A cooling and dispensing unit for beer and -the like, comprisingacontainer for receiving a body of liquid to be cooled and dispensed, asecond container for receiving a body of solid CO2, means for conductingCO1 gases intothe main container, a cover removable to permit access tothe CO1` container from the outside, a. portion of the wall of said CO2container being formed of transparent material of relatively greatheight whereby to indicate the height of the liquid within the secondcontainer upon renewal of the solid CO2 in the CO2 container.

6.v A dispensing, conditioning and cooling unit for beer and the like,comprising a main container for receiving a body of liquid to beconditioned and dispensed, a tap rod opening and a tap rod extendingwithin the container, a cooling container supported by and extendingWithin the liquid within the main container, a portion o1 the coolingcontainer cooperating with a portion l of the liquid container wherebyto lock the coolling container in place, said cooperating partsrequiring relatively great pressure before said parts assume saidlocking relation whereby to prevent. access to the liquid contents ofthe.

container except through the tap rod opening.

7. A dispensing, conditioning and cooling unit for beer and the like,comprising a main container for receiving a body of liquid to beconditioned and dispensed, a tap rod opening and a tap rod extendingwithin. the container, a relatively large opening in the container forreceivinga cooling container, a cover member for said opening and aportion of the cover member cooperating with a.. portion of the maincontainer whereby to lock the cover in place, a gasket betw'een saidcover member and main container.

8.1In a dispenser of the character described, a heat insulating case, aliquid container housed within the case, said case normally providing anenclosed space above and about the sides of said container, aconduitleading through the case and container structures for tapping saidcontainer, a receptacle for solid carbon dioxide disposed within thecontainer, a conduit leading from said receptacle to said enclosed spacefor releasing gas into said space, and a conduit leading from said lastnamed conduit to the interior of said container for releasing gas intothe top of said container.

9. In a dispenser of the character described, a heat insulating case, aliquid container housed within the case, said case normally providing anenclosed space above and about the sides of said container, a conduitleading through the case and container structures for tapping saidcontainer, a receptacle for solid carbon dioxide disposed within thecontainer, a conduit leading from said receptacle to the outside of saidcontainer for releasing gas into said enclosed space within the case.anda conduit leading from said last named I LLOYD G. COPEMAN.

